W. SOCCER | Bulldogs fall into last place

Missed opportunities hurt the women’s soccer team once again on Saturday, as the Bulldogs fell 1–0 to Penn at Reese Stadium. A late first-half goal by the Quakers put Penn (7–6–1, 3–1–1 Ivy) in the win column and gave the Yale team (6–8–1, 1–4 Ivy) its fourth league loss of the season. The defeat dropped the Elis to last place in the Ivy League.

Eli Markham

The Bulldogs had an early chance in the 21st minute, after a Penn foul gave the team a free kick right outside the box. Midfielder Enma Mullo’s ’12 shot, however, sailed right over the net.

The Quakers had their share of scoring chances in the first half as well. In the 36th minute, Penn’s Marin McDermott had a header in front of the net, but it was directed right into the arms of Yale goalie Ayana Sumiyasu ’11.

The Elis had another opportunity in the 39th minute when forward Kristen Forster ’13 lofted a well-placed corner kick ball just above the net.

Just as the first half was winding down, the Quakers struck. Penn’s Sarah Friedman took a shot off the right wing that got past a diving Sumiyasu, hit the far post, and bounced in to put the Quakers up 1–0 at 42:23.

That goal turned out to be all the offense Penn would need. Though the Elis had a few chances in the second half, they could not come back and score the equalizer.

The Bulldogs’ best scoring opportunity in the second half came in the 82nd minute, when captain Becky Brown ’11 fended off Penn defenders on the left wing and crossed the ball to forward Miyuki Hino ’12, who headed it out of play.

Yale’s inability to finish scoring chances has been a recurring theme in the team’s losses all season. Though both teams ended the matchup with eight shots, Penn had five shots on goal, while the Bulldogs only yielded one.

“I think we were definitely the better team in the game,” Brown said. “We had possession most of the game, we just couldn’t finish our chances. I don’t really think we had one shot on goal, and obviously you can’t score a goal that way.”

Falling behind in games has also been a major problem that has plagued the team all season. The Elis now hold a 1–8 record when they have not scored first in contests this year.

“Our makeup this year has been that when we score first we win, and when we don’t score first we lose,” head coach Rudy Meredith said. “That’s pretty much been our makeup for the whole season. You can’t chase the game, and that’s what we’ve been doing in every single Ivy League game. We’ve chased the game, and we can’t do that. Our team is not made up that way.”

The team will play its final home game of the season against Columbia on Oct. 30. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Reese Stadium.

Comments

Yale12

It seems like every single women’s soccer article includes a player whining that they were the better team but just couldn’t win it… Maybe the problem with the women’s soccer team is that they seem to think they’re the best team in the league, when stats point to them being the worst.